Psychometric Status and Clinical Utility of the MAYSI-2 with Girls and Boys in Juvenile Detention Programs: Factor Structure, Subscale reliability, and Predictive Validity for Behavioral Problems

An estimated 2.4 million children and adolescents are involved in the justice system as a result of arrests each year, which comprises 17 % of all arrests (Abram, Teplin, Charles, Longworth, McClelland, & Dulcan, 2004) and 16 % of all violent crimes (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2002). In addition, more juveniles than ever before are incarcerated and more of them are serving sentences in adult prisons (Teplin, Abram, McClelland, Dulcan, & Mericle, 2002). For many youths, especially (but not limited to) those who already have psychological or emotional problems, juvenile justice involvement is not only stressful but places them at risk for serious psychiatric complications. Teplin and colleagues (2002) studied a representative sample of youth detainees in a large city, and found that approximately two in three males (66%) and three in four females (74%) met diagnostic criteria for one or more psychiatric disorders. Half of the males and almost half of the females met criteria for a substance use disorder. Garland and colleagues (2001) found that 52 % of a sample of youths in juvenile justice programs met criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis, compared to the 54 % rate found for youths in the child welfare system due to abuse or neglect. Behavioral and emotional problems among youth in the juvenile justice system tend to involve not one bu